Horny Itinerary: Brittany Snow and Sam Richardson make a likable pair in contrived "Hooking Up"

Hooking Up (2020)

105 min.

Release Date: March 20, 2020 (Digital & VOD)

There’s a scene midway through “Hooking Up” where our mismatched protagonists, Darla (Brittany Snow) and Bailey (Sam Richardson), break into the home to one of the former’s hundredsome sexual partners. What it reveals is the sobering, life-altering effect her tryst had on the partner’s wife and why Darla blames herself, ringing true in the moment but jarring with what has otherwise been a flippant, slightly amusing road comedy. Said scene is a microcosm of the film's uneven tone. When first-time writer-director Nico Raineau and co-writer Lauren Schacher aren’t dabbling in the darkness and weight of a hard-hitting drama, the film makes light of the characters’ issues and plays them for cheap laughs, while the viewer is expected to take several leaps to reach the convoluted (and mostly predictable) destination. Described in the press notes as a comedy “in the vein of ‘The Big Sick,’ ’50/50,’ and ‘Silver Linings Playbook,’” "Hooking Up" doesn't feel nearly as deftly modulated as those films, but it is more of a painless diversion than a chore to sit through.

Crass and messy Darla writes a sex column for a lifestyle magazine in Atlanta, using her sex addiction to concoct relatable articles for women. Court-ordered to attend a sex addict support group, Darla ends up meeting not a fellow sex addict but nice guy Bailey, who stumbles into the wrong room thinking it’s a cancer support group. Having made a full recovery from testicular cancer, Bailey has just received a second diagnosis and will lose both testicles. On top of it all, he can’t move past the break-up with high school sweetheart and ex-fiancé Liz (Anna Akana), who left Bailey when he needed her most. When Darla gets fired by her editor (Jordana Brewster) for getting caught having sex with an intern in her office, she makes a last-ditch effort to salvage her livelihood — drive cross-country and keep a blog, as she maps out the sexcapades of her past and relive every one of those raunchy trysts with a cancer-afflicted stranger, like Bailey. It could be cathartic for Darla and a “bucket list” last hurrah for Bailey, too, before his surgery that will make him feel like an eunuch. 

“Hooking Up” is a case of two likable actors almost making one buy into the harebrained contrivance of a premise and the tonal missteps that follow. Sometimes, the script does flirt with deeper character examination, until it backs away and wades into sitcommy romantic-comedy clichés, including the bet (or, in this case, the subject of a blog post), the pretend-to-be-my-girlfriend charade, the falling-out and, finally, the public make-up. Of course, Bailey only makes the trip, so he can stop home in Dallas to see his parents (Vivica A. Fox, Bryan Pitts) and win back Liz at her mother’s retirement party, while sneakily posting photos on social media of his trip with Darla in order to make Liz jealous. And, of course, Darla only asks Bailey along so she can use him for her blog. It’s hard to invest in a relationship when those involved become reduced to playing liars and committing unlawful entry for no rational reason.

What "Hooking Up" does get right is an even-handed treatment of Darla and Bailey. Neither one is written to save the other; they create a tight bond, but they both have to do the work to save themselves. It’s not that Brittany Snow (2017's "Pitch Perfect 3") and Sam Richardson (2019's "Good Boys") aren’t amiable company—they share a salty banter with each other—but one is just left wondering what the film would look like if it had both feet planted in the real world. Even Amy Pietz gives an emotionally honest performance as Darla’s mother Betty, whose behavior has carried over to her daughter. As a film that commendably makes a woman unapologetic about her sexuality and allows a man to realize that his diagnosis does not make him any less of a man, "Hooking Up" is almost good enough that one wishes it blended humor and pathos with more ease the whole trip. 

Grade: C